Thursday of the 4th Week of Eastertide
Acts 13:13-25 | Psalm 88(89):2-3,21,22,25,27 | John 13:16-20
After he had washed the feet of his disciples, Jesus said to them:
‘I tell you most solemnly,
no servant is greater than his master,
no messenger is greater than the man who sent him. (John 13:16)
Jesus is the acknowledged Master, yet he deigned to kneel at the feet of His own disciples, and cleanse them with His own hands.
Does that not make Him…a master servant?
It’s like an employer, who ladles food onto the plate of her maid, as they sup together with the family.
Or a young man in pressed sleeves and tie, who helps an old cleaner carefully push a wobbly trash bin to the food court dumping area.
It’s the boldest of statements: I may be superior to you by some earthly measure, but I’m neither a superior being nor your lord, just a fellow traveller in this journey through life. Here, have some love, no charge.
Let us take in this signature lesson from the Lord, and master the art of serving with love and abandon.
Jesus, our Teacher and our Lord,
stooped to wash the feet of His disciples,
and He told them: “This is an example;
just as I have done, so you must do.”
Amen.